Men's 5s v Hertford - 3-11-18

Rather than using any fireworks analogies for the Mens’s 5s game (I’m not sure fireworks & Men’s 5s have ever been used in the same sentence!) I will compare our performance to the bonfire.

At the beginning we were a well formed structure which didn’t take long to get going, lots of energy and in control, but as time went on, we started to lose our shape and intensity, but when some new material was added it sparked into life again, eventually with all fresh material exhausted, if you give it a kick it will give you one last flare-up & then it will be over, with just that warm glow of what had been before..We welcomed the newly turned 13 Lawrence Wetters to the team this week, a welcome addition, making it 3 youngsters & bringing the average age down to the low 50s.We started brightly, getting the ball quickly to the front players to cause problems for their defenders, Charlie Goodwyn & Lawrence the main protagonists, the midfield was passing the ball well between them & the defence solid, giving Pete Walker in goal little to do. We introduced another of the youngsters, Deven Bray-Evans, to further the botherment of their defenders. We continued to press, getting the ball into their D, but not getting that final touch, we had one clear opportunity, but a diving tackle by one of their players pushed it behind.The second half played out much the same as the first, we had good possession, soaked up any pressure they put on, but could not create anything clear-cut. They scored on a breakaway, a finish into the top corner which gave Pete no chance. With renewed energy we pressed hard, Alex Gilmore ran mazily into the D and his shot went just past the post, we had a short corner (yes, just the one, but then they only had one too!) which again Alex put just past the upright after beating both their out-rushing defenders. Nothing was going for us today, but we continued the fight right to the final whistle.So, a 1-0 defeat, but a great team performance, and as our youth progress, I’m sure we will be turning these sort of results around in the return fixtures, bring on the Spring!Man-of-the-match was split across 7 players (including all the youngsters), indicating how we all played together as one.